We are nearing the end of an era. Anne Hidalgo, Paris mayor since 2014, will soon be leaving office. And this weekend, we vote on her replacement. In fact, there are elections all over the country. But in Paris, there are changes to how that’s going to go down this year and who is likely to take over. I’m joined by Phineas Rueckert, a Paris-based journalist who covers politics and social issues for The Nation, Jacobin and New Lines Magazine, to unpack what’s at stake, who’s running, why this election is so important, and what legacy Anne Hidalgo leaves behind.

Mentioned in this episode:

Phineas Rueckert

Phineas's substack Becoming French

Le Monde on Hidalgo's legacy

France's elections at risk of foreign interference

France's local elections, 2026

Elections as a preview for Europe

Quentin Deranque, political flashpoint

Lyon as French capital of political violence

Sarah Knafo copies Mamdani

Phineas's report for The Nation on Sarah Knafo

Audio production & editing: Matthew Jordan

⁠Music by Little Glass Men⁠

Almost two years ago, I met today’s guest on an art deco journalist jaunt around Greater Paris and have followed her work ever since. Maïa Morgensztern is a French art historian and culture journalist living in London but returns to Paris monthly, usually for an exhibition. Given how much has changed in the art world in the last year, I wanted to get her take on Paris vs London, the historical contexts of both cities in their approaches to culture, and the impact of Brexit on the art world. We talk about government and private funding in the arts, access to cultural institutions, and the class divides that influence who engages with art. You’ll also hear where she likes to go, every time she’s in town. 

Mentioned in this episode:

Maïa Morgensztern

Maïa on Instagram

Louvre strikes

Sackler family museum funding

Fondation Cartier

Museum upgrades in Paris

Carnavalet Museum (free entry)

London's free museums

Fondation Giacometti

Comédie Française

The Good Life

Audio production & editing: Matthew Jordan

⁠Music by Little Glass Men⁠

Nearly 12 years I ago, I became a French citizen. Since then, a lot has changed. Most notably, the criteria for nationality have tightened this year. Given how many more Americans, in particular, are looking to move to France, I thought it was time to dig into the process, how it’s gotten harder and why — at least for everyone except George Clooney— and to do so, I brought on a friend of the show, France 24 journalist, and new French citizen, Charli James.  

Mentioned in this episode:

Charli James

Stricter French requirements, fewer resources: Immigrants face new hurdles

France defends decision to grant George Clooney citizenship

Les procédures d'accès à la nationalité française 

Immigration : polémique sur des tests de français 

A new civic examination for foreigners wishing to settle in France

How France’s far right changed the debate on immigration

In Brussels, the far right can no longer be ignored

Audio production & editing: Matthew Jordan

⁠Music by Little Glass Men⁠

Whether you have children or not, chances are you’ve heard that France’s childcare system is among the best in Europe, both in terms of public and private options. There’s the crèche, subsidized daycare, shared nannies, au pairs, and full-time Nannies who make, or should anyway, a living commensurate with their experience and hours worked. Since more and more foreigners are moving to Paris with children or with the intention of having children, it’s important to understand the landscape. I happen to know someone who works in this world and wanted to get her story, her views on child rearing in Paris specifically, the options that exist, the dark side of the business, and how it all compares with the UK and Germany, where she has both lived and worked. Meet Lise Scott.

Mentioned in this episode:

Lise Scott

Norland nannies

French nursery (crèche) shortage

Paris childcare options

Options and unequal access

Audio production & editing: Matthew Jordan

⁠Music by Little Glass Men⁠

To kick off season 10 a few days into a year that’s already turbulent, I thought I’d keep things lighter and more casual with a friend of the show. I crossed town the day after Paris was submerged in snow to chat with Jay Swanson, YouTuber and creator of Paris in My Pocket, about coffee in the city, the cost of things, pearl-clutching newspaper stories, and what we hope for Paris in 2026. 

Mentioned in this episode:

Jay Swanson

Paris in my Pocket

Galette des Rois

Substance Café

The Guardian article

Audio production & editing: Matthew Jordan

⁠Music by Little Glass Men⁠

In continuing the conversation around the city’s culinary scene, the episode you’ll hear today comes directly from a panel discussion I was part of at The American Library in Paris with two very powerful voices in food that I’m proud to know. I was joined by Carina Soto Velasquez, the co-founder and owner of Quixotic Projects (Candelaria, Le Mary Celeste, and A La Renaissance), and Nora Bouazzouni, a French journalist and author who reports on ethical issues in the industry. We go through the changes in the food scene, some of the ongoing challenges for women, and how violence endures in the kitchen across the country. 

Thank you to the American Library for allowing me to use the audio and to Rachel Donadio for her thoughtful moderation. 

Mentioned in this episode: 

The American Library in Paris talk

Want to watch the conversation? It’s on YouTube

The Eater Guide to Paris

Carina Soto Velasquez 

Nora Bouazzouni 

"Violences en Cuisine: Une Omerta à la Française"

Audio production & editing: Matthew Jordan

Music by Little Glass Men⁠

What does it take to run a successful restaurant or several in a city full of them? Josh Fontaine, cofounder of Candelaria, Le Mary Celeste, and the newly opened A La Renaissance, knows something about it. He joins me to talk about what’s changed in the Paris food and beverage scene since COVID, the proliferation of concept-driven restaurants, creating longevity, and some of the details he’s most proud of at his new restaurant.

Mentioned in this episode:

Joshua Fontaine, Quixotic Projects

Candelaria

Le Mary Celeste

A la Renaissance

Lutèce

Matcha pop-ups

Bemelman's Bar

Audio production & editing: Matthew Jordan

⁠Music by Little Glass Men⁠

Almost a year ago, I launched a series on my newsletter called Leaving America, based on the multitude of reasons Americans opt to leave the country and why many of them, as it happens, end up in Paris. Through this series and my network of creative women in Paris, I’ve connected with so many brilliant Americans who have moved, want to move, or at least understand the desire to. That includes Susanna Schrobsdorff, a former executive editor and columnist for Time Magazine who moved to Paris within the last couple of years. Right off the bat, we started talking together about the feelings tied up in leaving one’s homeland and Paris has done for us, as it has for so many before us. She joins me today to talk about her path to Paris, why it was the right place to settle at this point in her life, and the importance of building community to withstand the toughest of times. 

Mentioned in this episode:

Susanna schrobsdorff

On leaving Brooklyn for Paris

Suzy Hansen's Notes on a Foreign Country

The Blue Hour workshop with Glynnis MacNicol

Paris = luxury fashion, right? Louis Vuitton, Hermès, and Chanel are pillars of France’s soft power and legacy of craftsmanship. And they are among the most counterfeited brands in the world. That's part of what I learned reporting on secondhand luxury and authentication issues for Bloomberg Businessweek.

I got to go behind the curtain at Vestiaire Collective, the leading French secondhand platform, to understand the surge in superfakes, how brands are responding to them, and how platforms like Vestiaire have become frontline defenders in this battle for authenticity. Today, I'm joined by Vestiaire's co-founder Fanny Moizant to talk about values, authentication, access, and how our relationship to French savoir-faire is evolving. Most of all, we'll discuss why secondhand no longer carries a stigma.

Mentioned in this story:

My Bloomberg Businessweek report

Vestiaire Collective

Fanny Moizant

Today's guest, André Michel, is a Paris insider; the unofficial Mayor of Paris with a deep and varied knowledge of food and culture, and a talent for weaving it all into compelling storytelling and events. The occasional food and travel writer and event organizer joins me to talk about what it means to know Paris, why there’s never been a better or more dynamic time to visit or live in Paris, and what travelers should check out this summer.

Mentioned in this episode:

André Michel

The Butcher of Paris

Bruno Verjus / Table

Capital in the 21st Century by Thomas Piketty

Jacques Genin⁠

⁠Jade Genin⁠

⁠Cheval d'Or

Othership NY

La Vasque Olympique

Audio production & editing: Matthew Jordan

⁠Music by Little Glass Men⁠